Before Redemption
by lauraac2110
Summary: Kathryn Janeway, the former Borg Queen, is destined to destroy the Borg. Will she be able to succeed? Will everything fall into ruin because she fails? With Chakotay to aid her, she hopes not. Set after Before Dishonor Next Generation novel
1. Prologue: The Fallen One

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own StarTrek Voyager, it belongs to Paramount, nor do I own Before Dishonor the story this novel is based after, that belongs to the author, and no copyright infringement is intended._

_**Note, see my Author News Blog for information about the upcoming chapters for this novel and for my other novel.**_

_Lauraac2110_

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110 _

_Prologue: The Fallen One_

_Earth, Paris, Year: 2383_

_How has it come to this? How has he fallen so far? _She thought as she watched him, from her hiding place by the back door, as he continued drinking heavily by downing yet another glass of alcohol. He was already strongly intoxicated and this showed quite badly on his pale face. He had never displayed a strong desire for alcohol before but, now...

She looked at him sadly. He was a mere shadow of what he had once been; the man she had once known.

He was no longer the proud, gentle, intelligent, courageous leader and friend she had known. He was no longer Captain of Voyager, as he had resigned three years ago without explaining himself, and since then he had been slowly reduced to the drunkard that she saw sitting at the bar before her. She knew that something must have happened to him which had caused him to change so drastically that she could barely no longer recognise him because of what he had become.

A lot had happened since 2380, the year which she had been assimilated by the Borg to become their new Queen. She was presumed to be dead to the world. Yet here she was, scarred, but, most importantly, still alive despite the fact that the odds had been against her. If Lady Q hadn't intervened, she knew not where she would be at this moment in time but she knew, with all certainty, that she would likely be dead. Lady Q and the Q Continuum had, by using the Doctor to remove as many of the Borg implants as possible, nursed her back to health and, now, three years later, she had returned to Earth to complete the mission the Continuum had assigned to her in return for her continued presence on this world.

Vice-Admiral Kathryn Janeway was to destroy the Borg forever, to put a stop to their reign of terror, as even the all powerful Q were beginning to see them as a threat. The Borg were beginning to rally again, as some of the Borg Cubes had managed to escape the Endgame virus, under a new Borg Queen. Their mission, predictably, was the assimilation and destruction of all M-class sophisticated planets that they came across in the universe. However, before they could complete their mission, they had to get her out of the way first.

Kathryn Janeway had knowledge of the Borg which the Borg knew was a threat to their existence. Her brief period as the previous Borg Queen, before her near destruction when the Endgame Virus had been unleashed which destroyed the Borg Cube she was on, had given her the entire collective knowledge of all Borg to ever have existed. It had also given her a few advantages as well which she planned to use against them but, first, she needed the one man who sat at the bar, heavily drunk, before her.

Chakotay. The last five years or so had been hard on him. He had split with Seven of Nine when he had become Captain of Voyager. She had now married her Beta Quadrant lover Axum, who had finally found her three years ago after the Endgame virus had been unleashed, and life had really went down hill from there for him. He had resigned from his Captaincy, and Starfleet, when he had heard the news about Kathryn's assumed death and since then he had deteriorated from the man she had respected as her trusted advisor, and closest friend, to the heavily drunk fool she saw now before him.

However, things had been better for the others senior officers of the original Voyager crew. The Doctor had created his neural interface chips and had done rather well for himself whilst concealing the fact that he knew Kathryn was still alive from the world. Tom and B'Elanna Torres had three children now with a fourth soon on the way. Tuvok had returned home to Vulcan to spend as much time as possible with his family and was reportedly enjoying every moment that he spent with those he had missed most when he had been in the Delta Quadrant. As for Harry Kim, he was currently the new Captain of Voyager and he had also married his sweetheart, Libby.

The original crew had heard from Neelix too. The Q Continuum had, at Kathryn's insistence in return for accepting their task, brought him, and the Talaxians that he had chosen to stay behind with, to the Alpha Quadrant to find a safe place to make their own home. They now lived on an outpost on the Moon, similar to their old asteroid home, and were enjoying every minute of their lives there without fear of being destroyed by the Borg or anyone else.

However, their peaceful lives were now in even greater danger than they knew as the Borg were coming, with assimilation and destruction on their mind, and she was the only one who could stop them. However, in order to save everyone, Kathryn Janeway needed Chakotay to implement the final stages of her plan to destroy the Borg. Firstly, to her despair, she had to find a way of restoring him to his previous state, though. He had fallen and she intended to get him back on his feet.

It was going to be quite a challenge to restore him but Kathryn Janeway was not deterred by this fact. Her destiny, by any means possible, was to destroy the Borg and, compared to that challenge, the challenge of restoring Chakotay to his old self would be easy.


	2. Chapter 1: The Unexpected Reunion

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110 _

_Chapter 1: An Unexpected Reunion_

_Earth, Paris_

"Another," Chakotay demanded as he finished his latest glass of wine and tossed several coins onto the bar to cover the cost of getting several more glasses of wine for himself so he could drown out his sorrows. The Bartender, a Ferengi, quickly snatched up the coins greedily before he poured another drink out for Chakotay. He then slid it down the bar to Chakotay, who, after a second of bitter-sweet sorrow, took it up and quickly gulped it down. He was already roaring drunk but, sticking to his usual policy of drinking until he fell over, which he had slowly developed over the past three years, he asked for yet another glass of wine. He had already had more than most people could afford to drink but Starfleet had provided him with a weekly stipend, to cover all of his costs no matter how unnecessary they were, which allowed him to spend money limitlessly on anything he wanted. Chakotay had chosen to waste his stipend on alcohol.

The harsh circumstances of the past few years had completely ruined him. As the stranger who now approached the bar knew, he was no longer the man he once was. Chakotay had not been able to cope with the news of Kathryn Janeway's apparent death and had almost immediately resigned from his Captaincy upon Voyager after he had heard the news because he had found, to his great surprise, that Voyager was _her _ship. He couldn't go anywhere without finding something that reminded him of her, or their days in the Delta Quadrant, and he couldn't cope with that fact because any memories of her often rendered him insensible with grief. Drinking was his way of forgetting her, and Voyager, as the alcohol often left his brain numb leaving him unable to think about, or feel, his pain.

The Ferengi was about to pour Chakotay yet another drink but, before he could, the stranger arrived at the bar. She tossed the Bartender a bag full of coins, which clattered upon the surface of the bar loudly as they landed in front of the Ferengi, to stop him from serving any more drinks to Chakotay.

"My friend here has had enough already. You can keep that entire bag of gold my friend if you don't provide him with another drink this night," the stranger said calmly. The Ferengi nodded and rushed away into the storeroom through a door behind the bar to hide the bag of gold so that his customers couldn't steal it off of him.

"Friend, keeping a broken man from his alcohol is never a sensible thing," Chakotay warned.

"My friend, keeping you from alcohol is the most sensible thing I can do," the stranger replied. She turned to him and lifted the hood of her cloak carefully to ever so slightly reveal her hidden face for a moment.

Chakotay turned pale instantly. For a second, he thought that he was imagining her familiar face but then he realised, no matter how drunk he was, he couldn't imagine her being here, dressed as she was, before him because of how painful any memories of her were. She was really here. She was alive.

"Vice-Admiral Janeway... but..." he began at a loss for words. She smiled at him, and put her finger to her lip, as she shook her head to interrupt him.

"I am glad that you can recognise me even when you are roaring drunk, Chakotay, but I'm dead to the world. For everyone's sake it must remain that way for as long as my existence can be concealed so don't utter that name here," she replied as she lowered her hood again to cover her face. "We can't talk here, as it is too public, but, as soon as we go somewhere private enough, I promise to tell you my tale."

She turned away from the bar and Chakotay, who didn't even have to stop to consider his actions, got up to follow her as she made her way towards the exit to leave. Before they could leave, though, several Klingon warriors stopped them by barring their path. They must have seen the bag of gold that Kathryn had tossed to the Bartender since they were clearly wanting a share of the riches as well. What they didn't realise was that they were about to challenge, and threaten, the wrong woman this night.

"Out of my way, gentleman. I don't have any more gold and I don't have any time for you," Kathryn warned.

"I doubt it very much. Hand over your gold and we might let you walk out alive," their leader said as he pushed her back from the exit as she tried to barge past them.

"You heard the lady, and I assure you she doesn't have any more gold, so let us pass, gentleman. I must warn you that you're messing with the wrong people tonight," Chakotay said quietly. Chakotay knew that he would unlikely be able to put up any defence against the Klingons but he knew that Kathryn would be, as a trained Starfleet officer and also completely sober, an extremely dangerous threat to their lives. Especially if she became angry enough with them.

"What if we won't move?" their leader said rudely. Kathryn sighed. It was clear to her that negotiations weren't going to get them anywhere. There was only one option left to her. Calmly, without giving their leader a chance to react, she threw him to one side and he slammed into the bar. A heartbeat later, he clattered to the ground unconscious. There was a stunned atmosphere of silence for a second as all of the patrons of the bar turned to see what had just occurred between the Klingons and Kathryn, the hooded stranger, to cause her to react violently towards the leader.

"Who's next, gentlemen? I haven't got all day, you know, so make this quick by getting out of my way. I'll gladly make you move if you still wish you to persist with this foolishness," Kathryn demanded. Surprisingly, she was still relatively calm about the whole situation despite the fact that they had been extremely rude to her.

Things descended into general confusion at that moment as the Klingons started a brawl by lunging at her. Several other patrons, who obviously hated the group of Klingons, foolishly leapt to her defence. Chakotay lost sight of Kathryn during that quick and ugly brawl but, despite being roaring drunk, he still managed to hold his own against the Klingons who opposed him. Eventually, after flooring three of them, he felt someone grab his arm tightly as he was pulled out of the brawl. When he looked, Kathryn was holding tightly to his arm and was also grimacing in distaste about her handiwork. She had single handedly floored over a dozen of the two dozen group of Klingons in the short time since the brawl began.

"Klingons, the biggest scoundrels and greediest race, beside the Ferengi, in the galaxy," she hissed in distaste before she calmed down. "However, they're also the fiercest, the proudest, the bravest and the most loyal warriors that I have ever known to be present in Starfleet Academy."

She paused for a moment.

"We had better leave before the Starfleet Officers get here to disperse and arrest the offenders," she then said quietly. "Unlike you, I don't like brawling and I don't want to be spending time any time with Starfleet Officers. I'm meant to be dead and the fact that I'm alive would leave me with a great deal of awkward questions to answer if they discovered my identity. I've got transport waiting for us nearby. Hopefully, it can reach us before Starfleet does."

Chakotay was instantly full of questions but Kathryn silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"Not here, come on," she said simply as she left the bar. He followed her out instantly onto the streets. She was wrong about him. He didn't enjoy brawling and, because of the Starfleet Officers, he wanted to get out of there as much as she did. Moving rapidly, so that they were well away from the site of the brawl before Starfleet Officers arrived, she made her way through the streets of Paris with Chakotay struggling to keep up with her as he was stumbling all over the place because he was so strongly drunk.

Unfortunately, Chakotay's drunken behaviour was soon noticed by the Starfleet Officers heading to the bar deal with the brawl. They were all male Vulcans and their logic was that, as they stopped to arrest them both, because Chakotay was fleeing the scene drunk he had to have been part of the brawl they were about to deal with. It was astoundingly accurate but it presented an obstacle to Kathryn Janeway and their chances of escaping Paris.

"Stop!" one shouted. "By Federation Law..."

Kathryn groaned. "Chakotay, run!" she exclaimed as she returned to his side, grabbed his arm and fled from the Starfleet Officers. Kathryn was almost dragging him through the streets, whilst dodging the phaser fire as they fled, as he couldn't really run at all because he was so strongly drunk. She didn't want either of them to be captured by the Starfleet Officers as it was too early for Starfleet to know that their most decorated Vice-Admiral had escaped destruction during the release of the Endgame Virus. Starfleet had to learn the truth later on when it became necessary for them to know of her existence. Right now, however, it wasn't.

Eventually, Chakotay and Kathryn were trapped down a side alley. The Vulcans advanced, with their phasers at the ready, to capture them both. Kathryn put herself between Chakotay and the Starfleet Officers, with her hands in front of her, as she prepared to protect Chakotay from the Vulcans and escape by using some sort of weapon against them.

"Come peacefully and we won't employ force against you," another of the Vulcan males said. Kathryn sighed.

"I don't want to do this to you, gentleman, but you're obviously not going to let us leave without a fight. I can't afford to let Starfleet know of me so I can't let you capture us," Kathryn said grimly.

The Vulcans fired. Kathryn, surprising Chakotay, revealed that her right arm was completely metallic on one side as she brought it up in front of her as part of her defensive stance. The red gloves she was wearing, like her red cloak, were leather but, unlike the cloak, they had Borg technology built into them and, as soon as the beams came within inches of hitting her, a reflective shield burst into life to protect her. The beams were reflected directly back at the Starfleet Officers which knocked them unconscious before they could react to her trick. They clattered to the ground and Kathryn, breathing heavily, stood still for a moment before she checked that they would live on without immediate medical attention.

Before Chakotay could try to ask the questions that were now buzzing at the forefront of his mind, the Delta Flyer suddenly burst into view overhead and Kathryn sighed in relief.

"Our transport," Kathryn said simply as she took his arm. Seconds later, they were teleported up to the Delta Flyer as they disappeared in a flash of blue light.

_Delta Flyer cockpit, seconds later_

Chakotay was lucky as they arrived in the cockpit of the Delta Flyer. They had materialised before the usual illness that overcame drunks, severe vomiting, during transportation could take hold of him. He noticed quickly that the Delta Flyer hadn't really changed at all since he had last used it to escape from Voyager but Chakotay was surprised by who was piloting it. The Doctor.

"Ah, I see you were successful, Vice-Admiral," The Doctor said as he swivelled around from the pilot's seat and got up to go to Chakotay. He then transferred control of the Delta Flyer to Kathryn, who calmly began to pilot them out of Paris, and approached Chakotay with a warm smile on his face.

"Chakotay, it is good to see you again," The Doctor said as he embraced Chakotay. Chakotay was instantly suspicious because The Doctor, rarely, if ever, displayed that sort of affection towards anyone and, when he did, it usually meant that something was going on. His suspicions quickly came true because he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his neck as the Doctor revealed that he had hidden an injection up his sleeve to inject Chakotay with an anaesthetic to knock him out. Chakotay gasped and instantly collapsed unconscious onto the floor before the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to Kathryn Janeway, slightly saddened by what he had just done, as he went to the secondary pilot chair and sat back down.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked.

"Yes, Doctor, it was. Chakotay needs rest to return to sobriety and we need him to be unconscious so that we can assess the extent of the damage he has done to himself over the past few years through his drinking habits. Arrival in Venice in approximately three minutes," she replied.

"He won't like what you have done at all when he wakes up," The Doctor warned.

"I know. He won't stay mad at me for very long, though, Doctor, as he'll be more interested in how I survived in the first place," she replied quietly.

"Are you sure that it has to be him?" The Doctor finally dared to ask after another few seconds of silence between them. She nodded.

"Yes. The entire Voyager crew trust Chakotay, despite how far he has fallen now, and I'll need that trust to implement the final stages of my plan to destroy the Borg. I need someone to work through as well, until I have to reveal myself, and he is the best candidate for that job too because the Borg know how strongly he is connected to me," Kathryn Janeway replied.

"Are you absolutely sure that reinstating your relationship with him wasn't a factor as well?" The Doctor asked whilst smirking at the thought. Kathryn hissed, whilst blushing deeply, as she turned away from his searching glare. She couldn't deny that she still had some feelings for Chakotay but she couldn't let them get in the way of her destiny and her duty. She had to destroy the Borg and everything else, no matter how important they were to her, had to come after she had completed that task.

"If I were you, Doctor, I would never suggest such blasphemy in my presence again," she replied. "No matter what I want, I know that it can't happen. That is the end of this discussion as far as I am concerned."

With that, Kathryn Janeway returned to concentrating on navigating the Delta Flyer to Venice and said nothing more to the Doctor. Her mind was busy wandering through the happier days, just before the Borg had taken everything away from her, seeking some comfort from the days before sadness became her world.


	3. Chapter 2: The Truth

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110 _

_Chapter 2: The Truth_

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, some time later_

What Chakotay could hear was rather blurry as he began to stir. Everything which had happened in Paris was a bit of a blur to him so all that he could remember was that Kathryn was back. He couldn't quite remember exactly how he had ended up unconscious or how the Doctor had ended up here with them. Wherever here was, that is.

"He's got extensive liver damage, Kathryn, so you don't have a choice in this matter any more. You've got to do it," The Doctor was saying as Chakotay tried to open his eyes. He found that his eyelids were just too heavy but, fortunately, neither Kathryn Janeway or The Doctor had noticed the fact that he was stirring yet.

"I won't do it, Doctor," she replied quite firmly. "It's just too risky considering the fact that I'm a Borg Queen whether I like it or not and the fact that I'm entirely different from the average Borg. In fact, I'm so different that I'm hundred times more deadly. I won't do it to him, Doctor."

"Do you want him to die?" The Doctor demanded quite bluntly. "At this rate, he'll be dead in a week or less because of the extensive damage to his liver which is causing his major organs to begin to shut down. You've got to do it, Kathryn."

Chakotay couldn't quite believe this fact. He had known that his drinking habits would eventually lead to disastrous consequences but he couldn't quite believe that those disastrous consequences were finally beginning to manifest themselves. He took a deep breath and this caught Kathryn's attention.

"He's stirring. Doctor?" she noted. The Doctor made a lot of noise as he scrambled to fetch something. It didn't take Chakotay very long to find out that the Doctor had picked up a syringe full of anaesthetic because he soon felt a sharp stabbing pain in his neck as unconsciousness began to claim him.

_Damn... _Chakotay cursed silently as he had hoped that he would manage to avoid detection long enough to allow him to hear the remainder of the conversation_. _Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

_What is it that Kathryn has to do to save me? Why doesn't she want to do it? _He wondered instantly as he slipped back into unconsciousness again.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

"... And you're definitely sure that there has been no adverse effects?" Kathryn asked as Chakotay began to stir again. Her voice was full of concern for him.

"I'm sure," the Doctor replied firmly. "If there were going to be any adverse effects, I'm sure that they would have appeared by now considering the nature of what you did."

Kathryn sighed in relief. "I suppose, Doctor," she said finally after a few moments of silence.

"The good news is that the damage that he did to himself, through his excessive drinking habits, has been repaired completely. The bad news is that he'll have quite a headache when he comes around tomorrow so he might be a little difficult for a while. He especially won't like what I did to him but I'm not staying to find out. I've got to get the Delta Flyer back to Voyager before Captain Kim notices that I've been gone longer than I said I would be. However, I'll be back in a week for you both," The Doctor smiled.

"Thanks, Doctor," Kathryn replied as she noticed that Chakotay was stirring yet again. "Before you go, though, would you mind..."

The Doctor sighed and, seconds later, Chakotay received yet another injection of anaesthetic. "He'll hate you for that, Kathryn."

"I know but he'll thank me because of the fact that he won't have such a bad headache when he wakes tomorrow," she replied calmly as Chakotay slipped back into unconsciousness again.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

When Chakotay stirred for a third time, silence greeted him. Although it took him a while, he did finally wake to find that he was lying in a bed with fresh, clean white sheets and that he had been changed into simple clothing by either Kathryn or the Doctor. At his bedside, a jug of fresh water and a glass awaited him with a note saying that he was to drink something as soon as he read this note.

Chakotay did find that he was rather parched so he took the jug and poured himself a glass of water. It didn't quench his thirst so he took another glass and another and another until finally the jug was empty. It was only then that he found that he was no longer thirsty.

He took a moment, of course, to consider what had happened to him. He'd been drugged several times by the Doctor, at Kathryn's command, and he was quite angry about that fact. What really bothered him, though, was the fact that the Doctor had said he had extensive liver damage and whatever Kathryn had done had saved him from a slow and painful death.

However, he didn't quite know whether what she had done was necessary a good thing or a bad thing. He didn't have a clue what she had done but, regardless of whatever it had been, he strangely felt a shiver run up his spine as he thought about it.

Finally, of course, was the throbbing headache which he was feeling because his brain was so dehydrated. Even though he had rested for almost three days, it hadn't lessened in any way. This further added to the colossal hangover which he was now experiencing which made him groan slightly and worsened his mood.

What could he expect after being almost continually drunk over the past few years, though? It was going to take a while for his body to adjust painfully to the fact that he was now sober but, after that period, as far as he was concerned now, he wouldn't be tempted at all to go back to drink. He had been drinking to forget the pain and, now, with Kathryn's return, that pain had vanished completely into thin air.

Kathryn. Her name stirred the old emotions which he had never been able to get over. However, it also stirred a new feeling of betrayal and anger. He got out of bed, as quietly as he possibly could, and left the room. He realised, as he went through into the lounge, that this was his house and that she had taken up residence whilst he had been travelling the world to get drunk. It had been left exactly as he had left it with a few small exceptions which made him smile only for a brief moment before his darkened mood took over again.

Kathryn had left fresh red roses out on the table and, to his surprise, the whole house was filled with their sweet aroma. It wasn't a smell that he disliked at all but it was, after he considered it for a moment, a smell that he had often associated with her.

He looked around. She didn't appear to be anywhere in sight so he wondered whether she had left him here or not. He didn't, however, wonder about that for very long, though.

The door to the spare bedroom opened and, blissfully unaware that he was awake, Kathryn stumbled out in quite a revealing golden nightgown. He couldn't help notice how beautiful she looked in that nightgown, despite her metallic arm, and distant memories of their time together came back to him at that moment which sent a slight blush up his cheeks. When she finally realised that he was there, she blushed furiously.

"I didn't think that you would be wake until later," she said. He politely looked at his feet as she sighed.

"I can see that," he replied with a straight face and an ominous tone. She grimaced, turned and went back into the spare bedroom to fetch a snow white dressing gown, which she quickly put on to protect her modesty, before she came back through. She stayed hesitantly by the door as he dared to look up. Then, he looked her directly in the eye.

Neither of them said anything for a moment until finally Kathryn laughed helplessly.

"I never thought that this would be so difficult," she admitted. Chakotay shrugged.

"Why don't we sit down?" he suggested with the ominous tone still in his voice. "Perhaps, then you'll be able to tell me why you're still alive. And why you didn't have the courtesy to tell me."

She nodded and they sat down on the sofa. She had a sad look upon her face.

"I don't know where I should begin," she admitted.

"Begin wherever you feel comfortable, Kathryn," he urged impatiently. "Just don't lie to me about anything that has happened."

She sighed. Then, she paused for a moment. "I made a mistake, Chakotay, when I went to investigate the dormant Borg Cube. I should have listened to Seven of Nine and not to Starfleet as I did back then. Because of me, an entire crew was assimilated into the Borg Collective and were later killed by the Endgame Virus. Because of me, Chakotay..."

She looked away for another moment. Then, she sighed again. "I don't remember anything from during the assimilation process in my conscious memory but I often wake up soaked in sweat from nightmares. I consider the other crewmen of the ship I was on lucky because they didn't have to go through the seemingly endless agony which I can remember that I went through. The Borg had chosen me to be one of their Queens so I ended up with the specialist work done to me. I lost my arm because of the Borg and it was replaced by this thing."

She waved her metallic arm in disgust before she continued. "I remember some of the atrocities which I committed as a Borg Queen but the first thing I remember so clearly in my mind is when I faced Seven before she unleashed the Endgame Virus. She somehow managed to reach the humanity buried deep inside of me but, instead of her making an attempt to save me, as she wished to, I ordered her to forget about me and to save humanity instead. Then, she unleashed the Endgame Virus and fled the Cube before it exploded. Her efforts, though, were in vain as a few Cubes managed to escape the Virus by hiding in nebulas across the Quadrants. They've now rebuilt the army of Borg drones which once existed three years ago and the universe is in danger from them once again."

"And you..." he began.

"I was on the Cube as it exploded but, somehow, I survived. The next thing I can remember is Lady Q appearing to my human side as I dreamt whilst I was unconscious. She told me that the Q Continuum had taken interest in me and that she wanted me to come with her. I was hesitant but I did go with her. She told me afterwards that, if I had refused to go with her, I would have died," she replied.

She paused again. "The next thing I can remember after that was waking up almost a year later in front of the entire Continuum. Over the year, the Doctor had operated on me several times to remove almost three quarters of the Borg implants and to, as far as possible, give me as much control over the others as he could. They wanted me to help them to destroy the Borg forever but I refused to help them until they offered me an exchange. If I agreed to destroy the Borg, they would bring Neelix and his Talaxians from their old asteroid home. They showed me what was happening to the Talaxians in the Delta Quadrant and, because of all the destruction I witnessed, I agreed to their terms. The Doctor tried to talk me out of it but I didn't listen to him because..."

She couldn't say it but Chakotay guessed instantly. "You seek redemption for the deaths of all the crew who were on that ship with you. Don't you?"

She nodded as she looked away ashamed. "I do," she confirmed. "By destroying the Borg, I hope to redeem myself. I'm often tormented by memories of their happy smiling faces whilst I regenerate and I know that I won't get any peace until I avenge their deaths."

"What happened after you agreed to help the Q?" Chakotay asked quietly. "And why didn't you come find me sooner? Didn't you think that I had a right to know about the fact that you were still alive? Or am I not important to you?"

"They nursed me back to full health for another few months before they sent me back to the universe. Since then, I've been working behind the scenes to disrupt a few Borg plans across the Alpha Quadrant and I've been plotting the Borg's demise as well. I didn't hear about any of you until a few months ago when the Doctor paid me a visit again. Whilst I had been disrupting Borg plans left, right and centre, he had been upgrading Voyager to prepare the ship in case it came under attack from Borg. Fortunately, they've been pursuing me across the Quadrant and haven't turned their attention to Voyager yet," she answered. "When I heard about what had happened to you, I started searching for you. However, I had to break into Starfleet Headquarters before I found out where you were. Once I knew, I went straight to Paris to fetch you. The Doctor piloted the Delta Flyer whilst I fetched you and he was the one who originally knocked you out."

"You've avoided my other questions, Kathryn," Chakotay pointed out angrily.

"I didn't want to put you in any danger, Chakotay," Kathryn replied simply. "My life is extremely dangerous now. Of course, you had a right to know about the fact that I was still alive."

"It doesn't seem that way," Chakotay countered as he stood. "Maybe I should just go now."

"No, don't Chakotay," Kathryn said quickly as she stood. "Of course, you had a right to know. Of course, you're more important to me than anything else in the world. However, I just couldn't risk bringing you into my dangerous world any sooner and I didn't want you getting hurt."

Chakotay took a deep breath as he sat back down. "And the Doctor?"

"He'll be back in a week for us," she replied calmly.

"Whatever for?" he asked.

Kathryn smiled. "I'll tell you over breakfast," she assured as she was about to stand up. Chakotay, however, stopped her.

"I think that there's something that you're not telling me," he warned with the ominous tone still in his voice.

She grimaced. "I didn't think that you would be able to tell that I was hiding something," she said as she paused. "You'll almost certainly remember hearing the Doctor and I talking about your health during at least one of the times you stirred from your unconsciousness. You'll also almost certainly remember that we said that you had extensive liver damage as well..."

She paused again and Chakotay looked at her with an upturned eyebrow as he waited for her to elaborate. "Well?" he asked as he grew impatient with her.

"The Doctor injected you with deactivated nanoprobes to repair the life-threatening damage. The only problem is that they are Queen nanoprobes so we don't know what other effects they might have," Kathryn blurted out.

Chakotay got up angrily. "What?" he demanded. "Are you joking?"

"No, I'm not, Chakotay. I didn't have any other choice. I'm sorry," Kathryn replied simply. "So far, there hasn't been any adverse effects but..."

"So far?" Chakotay echoed. "I could turn into a mindless Borg drone at any moment because of what you've done," he exclaimed angrily. "I need some time alone."

With that, he got to his feet and fled from his house out into the garden, despite her attempts to call him back, and left her alone on the sofa.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's Garden, several minutes later_

As Chakotay stood there, his mind was in absolute turmoil. He couldn't quite absorb everything which Kathryn had said to him. He was angry and confused and it showed in his darkened scowl.

"Chakotay..." Kathryn began as she came out into the garden hesitantly after him.

"Go away," Chakotay replied simply.

"No," Kathryn replied quite firmly. "Don't shut me out, Chakotay. Talk to me."

He shook his head as he turned and walked away from her. However, she followed close behind as he made his way deeper into the garden to the swing. As he sat down, she sat next to him.

There were a few moments of silence. Then, he sighed helplessly.

"You're not going to go away and leave me alone are you?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied with a smile before she grew serious. "Talk to me, Chakotay."

He took a deep breath. "I'm angry that you didn't come to tell me that you were alive. And I'm confused. Why am I not a Borg drone right now?"

She paused. "I can assure you, as I said earlier, that my life is so dangerous that I didn't want to get you involved. There have been at least a dozen attempts on my life since the Borg discovered that I was still alive and I've managed to survive through all of them with a few scars here and there at worst. Although things are much different now, these attempts will continue. I don't have a choice but to involve you as I desperately need your help," she replied.

She took a deep breath. "As I said earlier, you're not a Borg drone right now because the nanoprobes we used had been deactivated by the Doctor. However, as there has never been a Borg Queen defecting to the other side, we don't quite know what effect the Queen nanoprobes may have on you yet," she then said. "However, I had no choice. I really didn't want to use them but the Doctor convinced me otherwise. You were in a really bad way and, eventually, I gave in to the Doctor's demands. After all, you were only a week or so away from death."

"You could have left me to die," Chakotay snapped angrily.

Kathryn was clearly started by this. "You don't mean that, Chakotay," she replied. "If it was I on that table dying, you would do the same thing for me to save me and you know it."

He was silent for a few moments before he sighed. "I'm sorry, Kathryn, I can't help but be a little angry about your return. I suppose, though, that I should just be glad that you're back," he said finally.

"It's perfectly understandable, Chakotay. A number of people are going to react the same way as you've done," she assured. "Especially when the Borg start trying to kill me again."

He nodded as he saw a glint of fear in her eyes for a moment. She wouldn't admit it but he knew that she was afraid of what the Borg would do to her when they finally caught up with her.

"Oh Chakotay..." she sighed after a few moments of silence.

Hesitantly, he put his arm around her and held her close to comfort her. She took a deep shuddering breath as she leaned against him for a few moments. Whilst she did this, she was reminded of their relationship and couldn't help but smile about the wonderful bitter-sweet memories that came to her of them both sitting here together.

Then, she sighed again and the smile vanished as she decided to set things straight between them right from the offset.

"Chakotay... I... I honestly don't know how to say this," she began as she gently removed the arm around her. "I can't go back to the way things were before I was assimilated. I'll always treasure the time which we spent together as lovers but I don't want to pick up where we left of. I don't want to have anything that the Borg can use against me. Maybe, we can start from where we left off after I've destroyed the Borg but not until then. I'm sorry, Chakotay."

Chakotay was crestfallen by this news but he hid his distress from her extremely well. "I understand, Kathryn. Just know that I can't let go of my feelings as, after trying so hard to get over them for the last three years, I've learned that they are just too powerful for me to ignore. Just know also that I'll be waiting for the end of the Borg to come and, when it does, if we haven't got back together before that moment, I'll be seeking to pick up where we left off."

She couldn't help but blush at this before she regained her composure. "I'll keep that in mind," she replied.

"So, what's your plan to destroy the Borg?" Chakotay asked finally after another few moments of silence.

"I'll tell you that over breakfast," she promised as she took his hand and lead him to the breakfast table.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, a minute or so later_

_She may try to resist it but I know that she's got to still have emotions for me buried in her heart somewhere. All I can do, though, is wait and hope that she'll finally stop denying them. When that day comes, she won't be able to find a way to ignore us. _Chakotay thought as he sat down at the breakfast table whilst Kathryn made him a vegetarian breakfast of various fruits chopped up in a bowl.

_I've got to ignore these emotions. _She thought as she brushed the old emotions that were beginning to stir in her to one side. _I've got a duty to defeat the Borg and I can't let anything get in the way. Let's just hope that Chakotay doesn't try to press the matter too much, though. If he presses the matter too hard, I don't know what I'll do in response._

She continued cutting up the fruit as she sighed inwardly. It was just going to be another challenge which she would have to overcome during her quest to defeat the Borg. Kathryn Janeway wasn't deterred though. Like all challenges that got in her way, she was sure that she would find a novel way to best it soon enough. She wouldn't be Kathryn Janeway if she didn't.


	4. Chapter 3: The Plan

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110 _

_Chapter 3: The Plan_

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, a few minutes later_

"So, you can tell me now. What's your plan to destroy the Borg?" Chakotay asked as they began to eat their breakfast. As he sat there, he couldn't help but admire the fruit as it was soft and tasty.

Kathryn, who was eating some toast, sighed. "In a weeks time, the Doctor is coming back for us. He's going to take us to Voyager so that we can attend a celebratory ball which has apparently been organized in my memory. That's why I need your help, Chakotay. I'm not on the guest list, because they think I'm dead, but you are. They don't expect you to show but you're going to and, as your escort, I can get onto the ship," she replied.

"What will you do from there?" he asked. She sighed as Chakotay continued to eat his breakfast.

"I can't do anything official, Chakotay," she said simply. "However, before I tell you what I need to get onto Voyager for, let me explain something. As I said earlier, over the past few years, I've had the Doctor modify Voyager secretly whenever he had a spare moment into an Admiral class ship. It's now completely unique because it's the most advanced ship in the fleet. The Doctor has been modifying and adapting Borg technology for use on the ship. Everything from the cloaking technology to the weapons technology has been modified with Borg technology so that, when the Borg finally decide to attack it, Voyager will be ready to defend itself. However, there's one catch to the technology."

"What is it?" Chakotay asked curiously.

"Only one with Borg queen nanoprobes can access the technology, use it and live through the experience," Kathryn said simply. "It's a safeguard to prevent anyone misusing the technology for evil gain such as the destruction of a planet or a race. It means that only I can utilise Voyager's full arsenal against the Borg which is why I need to get on board the ship."

"And you need me just to get on the ship?" Chakotay asked.

"Of course not. I also need someone to act as my official eyes and ears as I can't get into the meetings between the Captain and the senior officers because I'm going to be in disguise from the start. However, you, as one of the former captains of the ship, can. And I also need you to be my official representative. I can assure you that, from what I can gather, the new Borg Queen is soon going to target Voyager so I'm going to need someone to convey my words to, and act on my behalf against sometimes, her and the Borg Collective as a whole," Kathryn replied grimly.

"Does it have to be me?" Chakotay asked. She nodded.

"Yes, it does," she replied. "They know that I trust you and that any words that you say on my behalf are my words and not the words of anyone else. I didn't want to involve you but it has to be you."

Chakotay could see the pain in her eyes as she turned away from him to hide it.

_She's in turmoil. _He thought simply. _She's in pain because she didn't want to involve me although she has had no other choice. _

_I can't let him know the truth. _She thought. _I really didn't want any of this to happen because of those lingering feelings which I have for him. I've got to overcome them, though. The destruction of the Borg must come first._

"And, after you get on Voyager, what are you going to do to gain control of the ship? And what will you do then?" he asked.

"I don't want control of the ship. I just want the power to use it against the Borg," Kathryn said simply. "The Borg have been planning to invade the Alpha Quadrant in an attempt to conquer Earth and eradicate Starfleet. I'm going to use Voyager to help continue to hold the Borg in check."

"One day, you're not going to be able to defeat them on your own. What will you do if that happens?" Chakotay asked.

"So far, I've managed to thwart all of their attempts as they've pursued me across the Quadrant, with the help of the Q, but, eventually, as you've said, I'm not going to able to combat one of the Borg's attempts to conquer on my own. I'll need the help of Starfleet that day but I don't want to involve them until then. As far as they're concerned, for as long as I can possibly maintain it, I'm dead," she replied. "And I know that, one day, the Borg might possibly capture me as well. If that ever happens, I'm going to rely upon you to continue defending the universe from the Borg."

"And I don't get a say in this?" he asked with an ominous tone to his voice again.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay," she apologised. "But, if I'm ever destroyed or captured, the Borg will turn their attention to getting you out of the way next because you'll be the one with all of the knowledge of how to defeat them."

Chakotay paused for a moment to considered the alternative. If he didn't get involved, and she was either destroyed or captured by the Borg, then it was almost certain that the Borg would gain control of the Quadrants one by one.

He sighed. Her plan was, he supposed, better than the alternative although he was still quite reluctant to get involved in it.

"So, will you get involved?" she asked finally.

"Do I really have any other choice?" he replied. She could hear the reluctance in his voice as he spoke but, before she could say anything, he continued. "I don't really like the alternatives anyway so, even though I'm reluctant to get involved, I've got no other choice. Yes, I'll help you destroy the Borg."

She sighed. "Thank you."

"Besides, someone is going to need to protect you from the Borg. I've got nothing better to do with myself anyway," he grinned.

She smiled and shook her head. "I won't need protection from you."

He chuckled. "We'll see," he countered.

They were silent for another few moments. "What now?" he asked finally to break the silence.

"Now, you enjoy what little time we do have here," she replied as she finished her breakfast. "I'm going to get changed. Then, I've got to go out to fetch something but I don't want you to come with me. Starfleet is still looking for you because of that brawl, Chakotay, and the safest place for you right now is here. They won't know where you are and, until we get onto Voyager, I don't want them to find you."

Then, without another word, she stood and slipped into the spare room. Minutes later, she returned, dressed in her mysterious clothing, and, just before she left, she smiled at him. Then, with a swish of her red cloak, she was gone. Chakotay sighed.

_It's going to be a long week. _He thought.


	5. Chapter 4: The Week

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110 _

_Chapter 4: The Week_

_Earth, Venice, Main Street, another few minutes later_

As Kathryn wandered down the street, several stares were directed at her. Over the past few months especially, she had become somewhat of a legend in Venice because of the fact that she was a mystery. She had often heard tales told of her in murmuring whispers to the children in the town and some of them made her smile.

Her destination today was the black market weapons dealer in town. He was the best in the world and, after many days of waiting for it, the weapon she had asked him to make for her was done.

"Ah, Katie, it's good to see you," he said as she entered his shop. To the ordinary public, this was nothing more than a simple convenience store of course to protect its owner from retribution. "It's been at least five days since you put in that order with me."

"Montreal," Kathryn replied with a smile. "I trust that it's ready?"

He nodded. "Come through the back," he said with a gesture as he headed through a door into the back of his shop. Kathryn calmly followed him into the back and closed the door behind her.

On the table in the centre of the room was the custom made weapon she had requested. One Starfleet phaser, which could easily take out any Borg because of the adaptations to compensate for Borg technology, sat on the table.

"It does exactly what it's supposed to do?" Kathryn asked.

"Do you think that I'd attempt to deceive you?" Montreal asked as he blinked. " Of course it does exactly what you requested it to. Do you want me to prove it to you?"

"I don't think..." Kathryn began but it was too late. Montreal took up the phaser, set it to stun mode and fired it at her.

Kathryn gasped as the beam hit her and, if she hadn't a former Borg Queen, she knew that it could have stunned her for days. Fortunately, though, she was only stunned for a few minutes and, when the effect wore off, she shook herself.

"It works," she said simply as she reached into her cloak and tossed a bag filled with gold coins onto the table. "Your payment."

"Your weapon," he said with a smile as he put the phaser into her hands. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Katie. I hope you'll put that weapon to good use against your former kind."

Kathryn blinked. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"You heard me. If you know the signs, it's easy to pick out a former Borg out for revenge against the Collective," Montreal replied. "However, you're nothing like any of the former Borg which I've ever met before."

"I guess I can take that as a compliment," Kathryn said as she headed towards the door and hid the weapon underneath her cloak.

"Yes," he said. "Goodbye, Katie."

She nodded as she left. Outside, a small crowd of children had gathered to see her but Kathryn didn't pay any attention to them. As calmly as possible, she began to head back to Chakotay's home.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, another few minutes later_

When Kathryn returned, she found Chakotay sitting on the chair where she had left him. This surprised her a little as she had thought he would have found something to do by now.

"Did you get what you were after?" Chakotay asked. Kathryn nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "I thought that you would have found something to do with yourself by now."

He sighed. "Sorry, I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do."

Kathryn smiled. "Well, perhaps, I can change that," she said simply as she vanished into the spare room. She returned carrying Chakotay's medicine bundle.

"When I moved in, I found it amongst the wreckage you had caused during your grief," Kathryn said simply as she pressed it into his hands. "I kept it safe for you as I know how much you value it."

Chakotay turned pale. "Kathryn..." he began. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."

She nodded. "It was the least I could do for you," she replied simply. "I'll leave you to it."

Then, without another word, Kathryn Janeway went out into the garden.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's Garden, some time later_

As Kathryn sat there on the swing, she was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Chakotay hesitantly approach. She looked up to see him with a sad smile on his face.

"Well?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he assured as he sat beside her. "Do you know, I don't have a clue how I'm going to use up all of this spare time that I suddenly have. What about you?"

"I'll do what I've always done, Chakotay. Improvise," she replied with a smile.

He laughed helplessly. "Yeah, that's all that you've ever done since the day we first met."

She nodded. "It has worked, though."

Hesitantly, Chakotay reached towards her and lowered the hood of her cloak.

"Sorry, it just makes it easier if I can actually see you," he apologized. She smiled.

"I'm sorry, I've just been so used to hiding my face under this cloak that I had forgotten that I don't need to do it here," she apologized.

"It's all right, Kathryn," he replied simply.

There were a few moments of awkward silence. Then, awkwardly, Chakotay's stomach grumbled. Kathryn instantly laughed helplessly.

"I'm sorry," Chakotay instantly apologised. "I didn't realise that it was already lunchtime."

Kathryn shrugged. "Although it doesn't seem like it, time does pass quite quickly here. Come on, we'd better go inside and get some lunch."

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, a few minutes later_

"More fruit?" Chakotay said with surprise as she served up lunch for both of them as she sat down at the table with him. It was a bowl of fruit salad. Kathryn shrugged.

"You'll need to improve your immune system before we get on Voyager and, as for me, I like fruit," she said as she took a piece of orange and put it into her mouth. Then, she swallowed it. "Almost as good as coffee. Which reminds me..."

She got up and went over to a custom made replicator. Then, seconds later, she came back with a steaming mug of black coffee and a steaming mug of herbal tea.

"I see that some things haven't changed about you at all," he chuckled. "You're still into coffee?"

Kathryn smiled as she passed him the mug of herbal tea. "Of course. I've yet to find anything which is better at keeping me alert than a good mug of steaming black coffee."

Chakotay chuckled as she sipped her coffee before he asked, "So, what are we going to do?"

"Well... we could always..." Kathryn began as he sipped his tea.

_Earth, Venetian Countryside, some time later_

"This is probably one of the best suggestions that you've ever made," Chakotay said as he sat down on the hillside with her at his side. It was late evening now and many hours had passed since they had swapped ideas about what they were going to do for the remainder of the week. Kathryn had come up with the brilliant idea of going into the countryside and, now, here they were.

"I've always made an effort to come here at least once in a while. There's something about the moonlight here which reminds me of all the time I spent on Voyager," she replied simply as she brought out the flasks and poured them out some soup into mugs they had also brought with them.

"Don't worry, it's not fruit," she assured him with a smile. "I thought it would be nice to have some lentil soup tonight as it has been a long time since I've had the time to make it."

He chuckled as he took a sip of the soup. When he found it to his liking, he smiled. "This is quite good."

"I'm glad that you like it," she replied.

There was an awkward silence. "So you miss all those days we spent upon Voyager trapped in the Delta Quadrant?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "No, I don't miss being stuck in the Delta Quadrant. I do, however, miss the crew. B'Elanna, Tom, Harry, Seven and Tuvok... I even miss Neelix, even though he kept trying to force his "coffee alternative" upon me, as well," she replied. "And, as much as I hate to admit it, I miss my sister Phoebe as well."

He smiled. "You'll get to see them soon enough," he reassured as she sipped away at her soup.

"That's part of the problem. When I do see them, they won't see _me. _They'll see whoever it is I'm going to be disguised as so they won't act the same way as they used to around me," Kathryn replied as Chakotay sighed as he put his soup to one side.

"It won't be for very long, Kathryn. And, when they do find out, they'll start treating you as they normally did," he replied. "However, I would like to point out that this would be your chance to _truly _get to know the crew without any semblance of rank or power getting in the way."

Kathryn sighed again. "I suppose so," she said after a few moments. Then, in one go, she finished the remainder of her soup as he finished his. They sat there in silence for a while before Kathryn calmly got up.

"We'd better go back now. If I don't take some time to fully regenerate soon, I'll end up quite ill," she replied with a sigh. He nodded as he got up. Then, as calmly as possible, they slowly began to make their way back to Chakotay's home.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

When they finally arrived back at Chakotay's home, it was early in the morning and they were both tired. They both calmly left the flasks, and the mugs, beside the sink. Then, Kathryn, with a yawn, calmly made her way to the spare bedroom.

"Good night, Chakotay," she said simply as she went in. Chakotay sighed.

"Good night, Kathryn," he replied quietly as he made his way into his own room. After changing into clean clothes, he calmly got into bed and, because he was so tired, fell asleep quickly.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day, some time later_

Some time later, the scream awoke Chakotay from his peaceful slumber. It sounded unearthly and so sorrowful that it unnerved him completely as he got up. He knew, though, that it could only have come from one person.

Kathryn.

As quickly as possible, he made his way to the spare bedroom. Kathryn was lying on the floor in front of the Alcove and, when Chakotay checked, she was unconscious. As he knelt beside her and gently took her up into his arms, he suddenly noticed how pale she was.

"Kathryn..." he said gently. "Kathryn..."

She groaned. "Chakotay... you shouldn't be in here..." she murmured as she opened her eyes.

"I heard a scream," he replied. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Kathryn snapped.

"Kathryn..." he began.

"Please, I'm fine," she replied as she got back up. "Just go back to bed."

He sighed and left the spare room. As he went back to his room, he heard the door shut and Kathryn sob a little. He was tempted to go back to her side but he decided that it would be best not to anger her any further.

Once inside his room, Chakotay sighed. Then, he calmly got back into bed and fell asleep.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, some time later_

When Chakotay got up, he noticed that the house was eerily quiet so he quickly got dressed and rushed into the kitchen. On the table with his breakfast, which consisted of yet more fruit, was a note.

"_I've got a couple of more things that I need to take care of today. I won't be back until dark so don't wait for me_," he read. "_Kathryn."_

Chakotay sighed as he settled down at the table to eat his breakfast. Today was going to be even longer than yesterday was.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, that night_

The scream woke him again that night. He hadn't waited for Kathryn earlier in the day and he had amused himself by reading through a number of the priceless books which he had littered around the house. At one point, some time after dinner, he must have dozed off because he was now lying on his bed with the book in his lap.

As quickly as possible, he put the book to one side and went through to the spare bedroom. Like before, Kathryn was lying on the floor in front of the Alcove and, when Chakotay checked, she was unconscious again.

He sighed. Whatever had happened to her last night, had clearly happened again so, as calmly as possible, he woke her without lifting her into his arms this time.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Chakotay asked as she opened her eyes. He noticed then that she was even paler than before.

"Nothing happened," Kathryn snapped again. "And I'm fine."

"I know that you're lying to me, Kathryn," he replied. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," she snapped. Chakotay sighed.

"You'll have to tell me eventually," he warned as he turned and left without another word. As soon as he was back in his own room, he banged his fist against the wall in angry frustration.

_Damn it! _He thought angrily._ Why won't she just be honest with me for a change?_

After a few moments, he calmed considerably. Then, as he got back into bed, he sighed.

_Women... I'll never understand them..._ he thought just before he fell asleep again.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

When Chakotay got up, he noticed that the house was again eerily quiet so he quickly got dressed and rushed into the kitchen. On the table with his breakfast, which consisted of yet even more fruit, was another note. However, unlike last time, her note looked rushed and messy which suggested to him that she was in a hurry to get away before he woke.

"_I've got something I need to do again. I won't be back until dark again so don't wait for me_," he read. "_Kathryn."_

Chakotay shook his head as he settled down to eat his breakfast again. Kathryn was avoiding him now because she didn't want to talk about what was happening to her whilst she was regenerating.

Was it a nightmare? Or was it something much worse?

Chakotay didn't know.

All he did know was that, if it happened again tonight, he wasn't going to let her brush him away so easily again. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, that night_

When the scream came again, Chakotay was ready. He'd passed most of the day by sleeping so, that night, he was just lying there on his bed awaiting the inevitable when it happened.

He instantly rushed through to the spare bedroom again but, this time, he managed to arrive as Kathryn was collapsing so he caught her in his arms. Then, he hauled her up and took her to the sofa. She was almost chalk white this time and, just as Chakotay was fetching a glass of water, she awoke.

As he turned to her, he noticed that she was trembling slightly. This unnerved Chakotay as he had never seen her look so vulnerable before.

"I..." Kathryn began as he returned with the glass of water. He shook his head.

"Don't try to brush me off this time, Kathryn," he replied firmly. "For the last three nights, I've heard you scream and I've come through to find you lying unconscious on the floor so something has been happening to you whilst you've been regenerating. And, because of the screams, I'm guessing that it is something that frightens you."

"Nothing has been happening, Chakotay," she replied quietly.

"Now look who is shutting who out," Chakotay said angrily. "I've been completely open and honest with you so it's your turn to be open and honest with me, Kathryn. Talk to me."

She looked away. "When I'm regenerating, because I'm linked to the Collective, they like to use that time against me. Usually, I just have nightmares about the assimilation process or the deeds that I committed as a Borg Queen but, for the past few days, I've been seeing their new Queen and an entire armada decimating planets at the edge of the Beta Quadrant,"she admitted.

"And their new Queen?" Chakotay asked.

"I don't know her name. She doesn't remember it herself right now as she's so newly assimilated," Kathryn replied. "Oh Chakotay..."

He instantly sat down at her side and calmly held her close as she wept. She buried her head in his chest for a while as she lay there.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm not usually so emotional but..."

"It's all right, Kathryn, I understand," Chakotay replied as he tried his best to comfort her.

She wept for a while before, finally, she managed to calm herself.

"Could you fetch me a handkerchief?" Kathryn asked quietly as she gently pulled away from him and turned away. He nodded, left to fetch her a handkerchief and returned with one a few minutes later.

Whilst she dried her eyes, Chakotay politely looked away and, as soon as she was done, he smiled gently at her.

"Promise me something, Kathryn," he said finally after a few minutes of silence between them. She looked up at him startled as he continued by saying, "Promise me that, if anything like this happens again, you'll tell me about it. And promise me that you won't try to avoid me either."

She nodded mutely and he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Oh Chakotay..." she said simply.

There were another few moments of silence before Chakotay yawned.

"I guess I need to get some rest now. I'll see you in the morning," he said. "And, this time, please let's have something other than fruit."

She smiled helplessly at him and nodded again. Then, without another word, he went back to bed and fell asleep.

As Kathryn sat there on the sofa, she sighed softly. _Why does he always find a way to make me smile? If things were different, maybe..._

She blushed as she shook herself. _No. The Borg have to be destroyed first. I can't think like this... yet. _

At that moment, she went back to the spare room and closed the door behind her.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

When Chakotay got up, he quickly got dressed again. However, as he went into the kitchen, he was glad to find that Kathryn was sitting there waiting for him.

"Good morning," she said simply as she offered him the plate of vegetarian sandwiches. "Sandwich?"

He smiled. "You remembered," he said as he took up one and ate it. This morning, Kathryn simply had a cup of black coffee and she was calmly sipping away at it as she sat there. "These are good."

"I'm glad," she replied.

"Aren't you going to have anything?" Chakotay asked. She smiled but shook her head.

"No thank you. I don't feel like eating anything this morning. Did you know that we've only got today and tomorrow left? This week has actually passed, so far, quicker than I expected it to," Kathryn replied.

"So, what do you want to do with what little time we do have left?" Chakotay asked as he took up another sandwich.

"I was wondering if you wanted to..." she began.

_Earth, Venetian Countryside, A Secluded Lake, some time later_

"This is perfect, Chakotay. I didn't know you had a boat here," Kathryn said with a smile as she admired the beautiful scenery around them. The hood of her cloak was concealing her face again as there were a number of other people out rowing on the lake as well. They, however, weren't paying the pair of them any attention to them but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Chakotay, who was rowing away at that moment, shrugged. "I was going to surprise you with it but..." he began.

She sighed. "Don't say it," she interrupted simply. He nodded.

"As you wish," he replied. "It's quite beautiful around here isn't it?"

She nodded. "It almost reminds me of my own home it's that beautiful..." she said with another sigh.

"I'm sure that, once all this is over, you'll get to go back there," he assured.

She nodded. "But I don't even know if I want to," she replied quietly.

He sighed as she looked away. It was clear to Chakotay that she had lost much more to the Borg than just her old life. She had also lost quite a lot of her confidence and Chakotay knew that, as well as being there to protect and aid her, he was also going to have to put a lot of work into healing old wounds as well. It was going to be a long difficult process which was going to take a lot of work on his part to complete. He had to do it, though.

If they were ever going to have any hope of defeating the Borg, they were going to need Vice-Admiral Kathryn Janeway, the heroic Captain who lead the entire crew of Voyager to safety through seven years in the Delta Quadrant, and he could tell that the Kathryn before him had lost that part of her somewhere within her to the Borg.

Chakotay sighed yet again and she turned back to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just thinking about Voyager," he lied. "It's going to be interesting to see how they react to me now."

She smiled. "If you think it's going to be interesting to see how they react to you, just wait to see how they react to _me,_" she replied. "Now that's certainly going to be interesting... although..."

She sighed again then she looked away again.

"Kathryn..." he began.

"I haven't had close contact with people for a long time. I don't know whether I'll be able to act reasonably normal around them or not," Kathryn admitted as she turned back to him.

"I'm sure that you'll be able to do it. You've been acting reasonably normal around me all week, Kathryn," Chakotay reassured.

She sighed again. "You're different," she replied. "I can be myself around you but, whilst I'm on Voyager, I won't be able to be myself as I don't want to be accidentally recognised."

Chakotay nodded but didn't say anything else as he continued to row across the lake. Awkward silence prevailed for several hours before Kathryn, with a yawn, broke it.

"Perhaps we should be heading back," she suggested. "I'm getting quite tired now so I'm probably going to need to regenerate soon."

He nodded. "As you wish."

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, that night_

As they entered the house, Kathryn sighed and lowered her hood again.

"Thank you, Chakotay," she said. "Although it probably didn't seem like it, I enjoyed it."

He smiled but, before he could reply, she disappeared back into the spare room.

He sighed. Then, without another word, he too disappeared into his room. After a few moments, he quickly got into bed and fell asleep.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, the next day_

The phaser fire woke him suddenly the next morning. He had been sleeping away peacefully until it had started and, when it did, it woke him violently.

His first instinct was to find the nearest phaser to protect himself with but, as he quickly remembered, he had surrendered his weaponry when he had resigned from Starfleet so he was completely defenceless.

His second instinct was to find Kathryn so he dressed as quickly as possible as the phaser fire continued on. Then, he rushed through into his living room and kitchen.

Kathryn was in the centre of the room and, at either end of the room, two Borg Drones were advancing on her. She looked tired, and her clothing was torn in places, but she was all right otherwise. As soon as she saw Chakotay, though, she turned paler.

"Chakotay! Get out of here!" she exclaimed as the Borg suddenly turned to him. Chakotay was frozen to the spot for a moment before, as the Borg drone closed to him advanced upon him, Kathryn reacted to protect him. She dodged fire from the first Borg and pushed the second to one side as she put herself between them and Chakotay so that they wouldn't hurt him.

Then, to end this battle before it grew out of control, Kathryn whipped out the phaser she had collected from Montreal earlier in the week and fired it once at both Borg. They didn't manage to adapt in time to save themselves so, as the shot hit them, they collapsed instantly to the ground.

Kathryn stood there as she breathed heavily for a moment. Then, she turned her head towards the door as it opened.

"Sorry, I'm early but this was the only day which I could get away from Voyager without anyone noticing..." The Doctor began as he entered and saw the two Borg Drones lying on the floor.

"What on earth happened this time, Kathryn?" he demanded.

Kathryn Janeway smiled. "Ah, Doctor," she said. "You've arrived just in time."


	6. Chapter 5: The Preparations

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110_

_Chapter 5: The Preparations_

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, a few minutes later_

"I see..." the Doctor murmured after Kathryn had explained about what had happened to him and to Chakotay. As far as she knew, Kathryn had sensed them coming and had tried to fight them off. Then, the phaser fire had woken Chakotay and, when he wouldn't protect himself, she had stepped in to protect him from the Borg. Finally, by using the phaser, she had disabled then them permanently.

"Are they still alive?" Chakotay asked grimly. The Doctor went over to check both the Borg Drones before he shook his head.

"No, they're definitely dead," the Doctor replied. "I've never seen a phaser kill a Borg instantly before, Kathryn."

"It's not a normal phaser. I had it specially made so that it would be able to bypass any Borg's defences instantly and kill them before any of them could adapt," she replied simply as she tossed it to Chakotay. "Here, you have more need of it for protection than I do."

Chakotay nodded. "How on earth did they manage to get to Earth without anyone noticing, though?" he asked.

"The Borg assimilated all of my knowledge of Earth's defences," Kathryn replied with a sigh. "They know about every security code, every checkpoint and every satellite in the Alpha Quadrant and, more importantly, they know how to get around them because I knew about all of them."

"Kathryn, we'll want to dispose of their ship in case Starfleet..." the Doctor began.

"I know," she replied simply. "You should go take care of it, Doctor, and make sure that you dispose of those two as well. I need to get changed."

The Doctor nodded as Kathryn left. Then, he sighed.

"Chakotay?" he began. Chakotay shook his head.

"Oh no, Doctor. You can go deal with them yourself," Chakotay replied with a smile. "I've got to go deal with something else."

With that, Chakotay went out into the garden and the Doctor sighed. Then, he began to drag both of the Borg Drones out of Chakotay's house and to the awaiting Delta Flyer.

_Space, Earth's Orbit, some time later_

"Aha," the Doctor exclaimed when he finally spotted the Borg scout in orbit around Earth. He quickly ran a scan to check that it was empty. Then, once it was confirmed that it was, he teleported the bodies of the two Borg Drones over to their ship.

At that point, he noticed a problem. There was a Starfleet vessel rapidly approaching them from Earth. Obviously, Starfleet had finally noticed the scout-ship in orbit around Earth and had sent the Starfleet vessel to investigate. If he didn't destroy the scout-ship within the next few minutes and, at the same time, escape, he was going to accidentally compromise Kathryn.

As quickly as possible, he activated the weaponry that he had brought with him. Then, he fired repeatedly at the Borg scout because it took a few attempts before he finally managed to knock out the shields and destroy the ship.

Whilst the ship exploded, the Doctor also manoeuvred the Delta Flyer back into a descent to Earth so that the explosion would conceal him from the sensors of the Starfleet vessel that was rapidly approaching the remains of the Borg scout. Then, he sighed as it was confirmed that the Starfleet vessel hadn't noticed him.

_That was just too close. _He thought as he begin the journey back to Venice.

_Earth, Venice, Chakotay's home, some time later _

As the Doctor returned, Chakotay and Kathryn were laughing away in a carefree manner as they reminisced about some of the funniest moments of their careers in Starfleet. The Doctor was quite stunned when he saw them.

Kathryn had never smiled, never laughed, in that way since the Borg had assimilated her. The Doctor had constantly tried to find some way of cheering her up but, over the past few years, he had constantly failed. Yet, now, here she was laughing away with Chakotay as if she was perfectly human. To the Doctor, it was like a miracle which he didn't want to disturb so he continued to watch quietly as they continued to eat and laugh away. Chakotay certainly was very special indeed. The Doctor wondered how Chakotay had managed to do it but, just as he wondered, Kathryn noticed his presence and the smile vanished.

"I know that you're there, Doctor. Well?" she asked as she turned to him.

"Starfleet did notice the Borg scout, Kathryn," the Doctor warned. "However, I managed to destroy it before they reached it and I escaped unnoticed."

She grimaced. "That was just too close."

"They're going to start paying much closer attention to everything which has been happening now," Chakotay warned. "It's going to become more difficult to escape their notice now."

"I know," Kathryn said quietly. "We're going to have to leave as soon as possible, Doctor."

"Good," The Doctor replied. "First though, we've got a few things to sort out."

He disappeared for a moment and returned carrying a small bag.

"Is that the..." Kathryn began. The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, it's the holo-emitter," he replied as he opened the bag to pull out the small device which had been. "I've programmed a suitable disguise into it which I hope that you will find suitable."

"And the deactivation code?" Kathryn asked.

The Doctor coughed. "As we agreed, it's best that you don't know what it is in case the Borg try to use it against you. We agreed that only Chakotay and I would know of it."

She sighed as the Doctor came over, and used the golden ribbon that the holo-emitter was attached to, to tie it to Kathryn's arm.

"Close your eyes, Kathryn," the Doctor commanded. She sighed and complied as Chakotay got up out of his chair.

"So, what is the deactivation code?" Chakotay asked.

The Doctor smiled and pointed directly at Chakotay. Chakotay turned pale.

"You can't be..." he began.

"Just get over here, Chakotay," the Doctor snapped. Chakotay came over and the Doctor took his hand. Then, the Doctor pressed Chakotay's middle finger onto the screen of the holo-emitter. It beeped for a few moments before there was a flash of light which forced Chakotay to look away.

When Chakotay turned back, he was puzzled. "Did it work?" he asked the Doctor as they backed away. "I still see Kathryn."

The Doctor was puzzled by this. "Well I can't see her," the Doctor replied. "It must have worked. Are you sure..."

"Yes, I can only see Kathryn," Chakotay replied firmly.

"Well, has it worked?" Kathryn demanded. "Can I open my eyes?"

The Doctor sighed. "Of course, Kathryn. You can open your eyes now."

She did so and instantly scrambled into the spare room. Hesitantly, Chakotay and the Doctor followed after her.

When they entered the spare room, Kathryn stood staring into the mirror at her reflection.

"Wow..." Chakotay breathed.

Now that he could see her disguise in the mirror, he couldn't quite believe how beautiful she looked. Her face had been subtly altered in the disguise and her hair appeared to be a pale blonde. Chakotay knew that, if he hadn't known it was her, he would not have been able to recognise her at all. Kathryn turned quite pale.

"Doctor, you know how much I didn't want to have blonde hair..." Kathryn began.

"I know but I had little other choice," the Doctor replied. "I had to make sure that no one would be recognise you at all."

Chakotay smiled as he stood there. "If I didn't know that it was you, Kathryn, I wouldn't have been able to recognise you," he assured.

She sighed. "I suppose so. So who am I being disguised as now?" she asked. The Doctor smiled.

"Katie Miller," he replied. "It was the best_ he_ could come up with."

Kathryn turned to him sharply. "Katie?" she hissed as Chakotay concealed a chuckle.

"It was the best that he could do," the Doctor protested.

Kathryn growled. "Damn you, Q," she muttered.

"I heard that!" a ghostly voiced warned. Then, Q appeared in front of her.

"Good," she snapped. "You could have found a better disguise you know."

"You look stunningly beautiful in that disguise. I don't see what your problem is," Q replied.

"Her problem, I'm guessing, is that she looks too beautiful, Q," Chakotay said coldly. "That sort of beauty will turn a lot of heads upon Voyager and cause us no share of problems."

"Well it's too late to do anything about it now. You've activated the holo-emitter so I can't change it," Q replied firmly. "Sorry, Kathy but there's nothing I can do. Besides, I like it."

"Q!" Kathryn exclaimed as he vanished. "Get back here!"

There was no reply and Kathryn sighed. "I suppose that we're just going to have to live with it," she said grimly. "Although I'm not happy with it."

"You should be," the Doctor replied quietly. She glared at him and Chakotay, who sensed that trouble was about to kick off, decided to intervene by distracting them both.

"How can't I see the disguise?" Chakotay asked.

"That's a good question," the Doctor said. "Kathryn?"

"He can't see it because the Borg nanoprobes in his body have enhanced his sight. It means that we can see right through holographic disguises but we can't see right through actual holograms because the nanoprobes are intelligent enough to distinguish between them," she replied grimly.

"Is that a bad thing?" Chakotay asked. Kathryn shrugged.

"We don't know," she replied.

"I've never had the chance to study anyone injected with deactivated nanoprobes, let alone the _Queen_ nanoprobes, before," the Doctor added. "You're my guinea pig on this matter."

"Don't remind me," Chakotay groaned. "Let me guess, you want to..."

"As soon as we get onto Voyager, it would be nice of you to volunteer yourself for a full medical check. I want to see how well all of the damage has been repaired and, at the same time, I also want to know whether your body is adapting well to the presence of those nanoprobes or not," The Doctor interrupted.

At that moment, a beeping noise filled the room.

"Doctor, I think that we might want to go. The intruder sensors indicate that Starfleet appears to be coming here," she warned.

The Doctor turned pale. "Grab your things, quickly. I'll be deleted if they find me here."

Both Chakotay and Kathryn nodded. Then, Chakotay rushed next door for his medicine bundle as Kathryn picked up the mirror from the spare room. As she and the Doctor left the spare room, a holographic image of a wall replaced the door as she shut it behind her when Chakotay left his room.

"They can't find any Borg technology in here otherwise you'll be killed, Chakotay," she warned. "I can only believe that they're here to arrest you after that brawl in Paris."

Chakotay grimaced. "And they'll be after you as well because you're such an enigma to them."

"If you two don't mind. Let's go," The Doctor said just as he rushed out of the house. Both Kathryn and Chakotay followed him.

"Why are you bringing the mirror, anyway?" Chakotay asked as they ran to the Delta Flyer.

"It is a special object for me, Chakotay. I can't risk leaving it here as it's likely it would destroyed," she replied.

"It's even more likely that it'll be destroyed upon Voyager," he warned.

"Not if I can help it," she assured as they reached the Delta Flyer. They both got into the cockpit as the Doctor started up the launch sequences for the Flyer and shut the hatch behind them.

"Wait!" Kathryn exclaimed. "We never brought..."

"Don't worry, Kathryn," the Doctor replied. "Q took care of all of your clothing needs when we cleaned up Chakotay's quarters a few days ago."

"Just great," she groaned as the Delta Flyer took off.

As soon as they got into orbit, it was clear that they were being followed by a number of Starfleet shuttle-crafts.

"Damn it," Kathryn cursed. "Doctor, lose those shuttle-crafts and get us out of here!"

"I'm trying, Kathryn," he replied. "However, they're completely out-manoeuvring me. Shields are at 50%."

"Allow me," Chakotay offered as he took over from the Doctor. Then, he calmly began to shake off the Starfleet shuttle-crafts by performing a number of complex manoeuvres to dodge their fire whilst, at the same time, he prepared to jump into warp.

"Chakotay, are you sure that..." Kathryn began as an alarm went off.

"They're firing a torpedo at us!" the Doctor warned.

"They really must want to capture me," Chakotay said grimly. "Hold on tight!"

At that moment, he forced the Delta Flyer to jump into warp just as the torpedo exploded.

_Space, Earth's Orbit, at that very moment_

"Report!" the commander of the lead shuttle-craft, a Vulcan, demanded.

"It appears that he jumped to warp before the torpedo exploded. The craft must have been badly damaged just before it jumped to warp so he won't be able to go very far," his pilot replied.

"Notify Starfleet Command and take us to warp. We're going after him," the commander ordered.

"Yes sir," the pilot replied as she activated a number of controls and notified Starfleet Command of what had happened. Then, she notified the other shuttle-craft before they finally jumped to warp after the Delta Flyer.

The commander of the lead shuttle-craft was determined not to let Chakotay escape. His brother was in a coma because of what had happened in Paris that ill-fated night and he wanted answers.

He only hoped that they would catch Chakotay before it was too late.


	7. Chapter 6: The Return To Voyager

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110_

_Chapter 6: The Return To Voyager_

_Space, near to Voyager, a few minutes later_

"Report," Kathryn demanded instinctively as they left warp. Several alarms were going off inside the Delta Flyer and, on top of that, a number of panels within the Delta Flyer were rather badly damaged. A few were even completely burnt into a number of pieces.

"We're a few light-years from Voyager," Chakotay nodded. "However, the shields are off-line."

"And it appears that the Delta Flyer has been badly damaged. We're fortunate that we even managed to get as near to Voyager as we did," the Doctor noted.

"Those shuttle-craft will probably soon be here and, as far as I'm concerned, I don't want to be here when they arrive," Chakotay grimaced.

Kathryn sighed as she closed her eyes.

"Did you make all the necessary modifications to the Delta Flyer, Doctor?" she asked. He nodded grimly.

"Yes but you can't seriously be considering..." the Doctor began as she opened them again.

"I don't want to be here when those shuttle-craft catch up, do you?" Kathryn replied as she quickly accessed the panel on the armrest of her chair.

"No but..." the Doctor began. However, he fell silent as she smiled.

"We're fortunate that Borg technology is more resilient than Starfleet shield technology," she said. "The cloaking device is undamaged and ready to go."

"The Delta Flyer has a cloaking device?" Chakotay said with surprise as he turned to her. She nodded.

"Of course," she replied simply as she inserted one of her metallic fingers into a slot upon the arm of the chair which opened at that moment. Then, her eyes went blank as they took on a greyish tinge.

"Kathryn..." Chakotay began but the Doctor just shook his head in reply.

"She's just dealing with the cloaking device. Watch," The Doctor replied grimly. Chakotay watched in fascination as Kathryn stayed remotely still. Seconds later, the cloaking device activated just before the fleet of shuttle-craft burst out of warp.

"Kathryn, they're here," the Doctor warned. Just then, the greyish tinge in her eyes vanished and her eyes returned to normal as she gasped.

She removed her finger out of the slot before it closed shut and nodded. "We're just going to have to sit tight for a while until they disappear. Don't worry, they won't be able to register our presence,"she reassured.

"What about our ion trail, Vice-Admiral?" the Doctor asked. Kathryn glared at him. "Sorry, Kathryn."

"Our trail will end here. The Starfleet Officers won't suspect that we're using a cloaking device and, hopefully, they should go away," she replied with a devious smile. "Then, we can head to Voyager."

"Let's hope that you're right, Kathryn. I don't want to think about the alternatives," Chakotay replied grimly.

"Neither do I," she admitted. "All that we can do now is wait."

_Space, near to Voyager, at that very moment_

"Sir, they've gone," the pilot reported.

"Gone? How?" the commander of the lead shuttle-craft demanded.

"The ion trail ends here and sensors indicate that they're no longer in the vicinity," the pilot replied.

The commander of the lead shuttle-craft cursed. "Damn it. Notify Starfleet Command that we've lost him and, at the same time, prepare to jump back to warp. Chakotay's house might hold some clues to where he might have gone," he ordered grimly.

"Yes, sir," the pilot replied. She notified both Starfleet Command and the other shuttle-craft before she prepared to jump to warp.

_I'll find you, Chakotay. There won't be any place in this universe where you can go to hide from me. _The commander vowed as all of the shuttle-crafts jumped to warp.

_Space, near to Voyager, a minute or so later_

"They're gone," Chakotay reported in relief as he sighed. Kathryn smiled.

"And, despite everything, my mirror hasn't been damaged," she said. "Get us out of here, Chakotay, just in case the shuttle-crafts come back."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied instinctively as he turned his attention back to the console. She shook her head.

After a few minutes, he calmly began to pilot the Delta Flyer towards Voyager. And, as Kathryn often thought of it, her only home.

_Space, Voyager, Shuttle Bay, some time later_

As soon as the Delta Flyer docked in the Shuttle Bay Kathryn switched off the cloaking device. Then, she opened the hatch and, after checking that the coast was clear, rushed out onto _her_ ship.

"U.S.S. Voyager," she said with a tone of sadness to her voice. "I missed this ship."

Hesitantly, Chakotay grabbed the forgotten mirror and his medicine bundle before he followed after her.

"So did I," he assured as he passed her the mirror. "It's good to be back."

She nodded quietly as the Doctor followed them both.

"I don't know how I'm going to explain all of that damage to the Captain and the Chief Engineer," the Doctor said as he grimly looked over the badly damaged Delta Flyer.

"Meteor damage," Chakotay suggested.

"That might work," The Doctor agreed. "Come on, I had better get you both out of here before any Starfleet personnel show up to inspect the Delta Flyer. Kathryn?"

She nodded. "I'll conceal both Chakotay and I with the cloaking device built into my glove. Lead the way, Doctor," she said as she closed her eyes so that she could concentrate on concealing them both. Then, she took Chakotay's hand in her free, human, hand which still felt as soft as he remembered it to be in his gentle grip.

"Don't get any ideas," she warned as she reopened her eyes. "I need to be holding onto you to conceal you."

He sighed and nodded.

"I won't," he promised as the Doctor sighed.

Then, the Doctor lead them away through the corridors. As they went, they had to continually dodge Starfleet personnel who couldn't see them because of the cloaking device.

After a number of near misses, Chakotay had grown sick of dodging personnel and wondered if there was another way to get to their quarters without being detected.

"Isn't there any easier way of doing this?" he whispered to Kathryn. She shook her head.

"No," she whispered simply in reply.

Chakotay sighed. _This is going to be difficult. _He thought silently to himself as they continued to head to his quarters.

_Space, Voyager, Chakotay's quarters, some time later_

"Here we are," the Doctor said triumphantly as Kathryn deactivated the cloaking device. "Computer, unlock door. Authorisation code, DoctorDoctor."

The door instantly slid open and Kathryn swept past the Doctor into Chakotay's quarters. Chakotay was quickly dragged in behind her because she hadn't let go of his hand yet.

"I had forgotten what this place had looked like," she admitted as she let go of his hand. Then, as calmly as possible, she set up her mirror upon the nearby table and secured it to the wall. Chakotay sighed.

He had liked to use that table when he was reading and, now, because she had set up the mirror upon it, he would never be able to get near it any more. However, he didn't protest to Kathryn about this, because he knew that she would win any argument they had about it in the end, as he set his medicine bundle down beside the bed.

"All right, I expect you to bring him to Sick Bay in the morning, Kathryn, for a medical and I expect you also to take some time to regenerate," the Doctor said as he moved to leave.

"Yes, Doctor," she sighed.

"And, Kathryn?" he said as he turned back.

"Yes, Doctor?" she replied.

"I'm locking you in here tonight, so that you don't get any ideas about sneaking around, but the door will automatically unlock in the morning. And, remember, you must regenerate," the Doctor warned as he left. Seconds later, the door locked shut.

Kathryn sighed as she turned to Chakotay.

"Well, we're here," she said grimly as she yawned. "And, after everything that's happened today, I find myself exhausted."

"Me too," Chakotay agreed as he yawned as well. "Perhaps we should get some rest."

She nodded as she went over to the wardrobe and calmly sifted through her clothes.

"I'm going to kill Q," she hissed after she had been through her clothes.

Chakotay groaned. "What has he done now?"

"He's only gone and filled my wardrobe with beautiful clothing that will make me the focus of the attention of every man on this ship," she said as she grew really angry.

"Oh," Chakotay said as he looked down at the floor whilst he sat on the bed. "How bad are they...?"

"Extremely," she hissed. "And I thought that the disguise was bad."

He struggled not to think of how beautiful Kathryn would probably look in the beautiful clothing as he knew that it could cause a significant problem between them. However, he just couldn't help himself think of how beautiful she would look for one moment which caused a slow brush to creep up his cheeks.

"Don't get any ideas," Kathryn growled to him as she snatched one of the plainer nightdresses out of the wardrobe and went into the bathroom to get changed. When she returned, she was also wearing a plain white dressing gown to cover up whatever it was she was wearing.

"Well, good night, Chakotay," she said simply as she pressed a button at the side of the table with the mirror upon it to reveal a hidden Alcove behind one of the walls. As soon as she stepped into the Alcove, the wall slid shut behind her.

"Good night, Kathryn," he sighed as he went to take a shower before he grimly went to bed.

Within minutes, he was officially asleep.


	8. Chapter 7: The Morning Medical

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110_

_Chapter 7: The Morning Medical_

_Space, Voyager, Chakotay's quarters, the next day_

When Chakotay awoke in the morning, it took him a few moments to adjust to where he was. Then, it took him another few moments to glance up to see if Kathryn had finished her regeneration cycle. She hadn't.

There was no sign of her anywhere and, when he listened closely, he could hear her breathing deeply and irregularly as she regenerated within the Alcove.

He lay still for a moment before he decided that it would be best for him to get up and get dressed before Kathryn awoke. Then, he got up, fetched himself a plain shirt and a pair of trousers from the wardrobe and quickly got dressed.

As soon as he was dressed, he listened.

Kathryn was still regenerating.

_Just how long has she been in there? _He wondered. _And how long have I been asleep for?_

He went over to the door, which slid open as he approached it, before he took a seat upon his sofa.

_So it's morning now. I'll just have breakfast then, if she's still not awake, I'll get worried. _He thought to himself as he went over to the replicator and asked for some fruit. Seconds later, a bowl of mixed fruit appeared in the replicator and he calmly took it back over to his sofa.

He was about halfway through the bowl of fruit when the wall finally slid open and Kathryn finally emerged from the Alcove. She was quiet and he didn't know whether or not he should ask if she had another nightmare. Until he looked into her eyes and saw fear reflected in them, that is.

"Did you have another nightmare last night, Kathryn?" he asked quietly. She looked at the floor.

"Yes," she admitted. "Don't worry, though, it's one of the few that I'm used to."

"Do you..." he began. She shook her head.

"No, Chakotay, I don't want to talk about it," she replied. "I'll be fine once I've had some coffee."

At the mention of coffee, the replicator instantly produced a mug of steaming black coffee and both Chakotay and Kathryn turned pale at this.

"Did you just..." he began.

"I think so," she replied as she fetched the mug of coffee. "The Doctor must have wired my brain up to Voyager through some sort of neural interface. I'll ask him about it when we get down to Sick Bay."

Chakotay nodded. "Do you want some?" he asked as he offered her some fruit from the bowl. She shook her head.

"No, thanks," she replied simply. "Coffee is enough for me this morning."

At that moment, she went over to the wardrobe, quickly grabbed one of the plainest dresses there and, with her mug of coffee, went into the bathroom to get changed.

When she returned, Chakotay couldn't honestly believe how beautiful she looked in the plain white dress that she had chosen. She seemed a little self-conscious and nervous as she stood there at the edge of the bathroom door.

"You look absolutely radiant this morning," he said freely as he took a long moment to appraise her.

"Don't get any ideas," Kathryn warned as she returned to his side.

"Yes, Kathryn," he replied with a smile as he looked at the floor for a long moment whilst she continued to sip her coffee. They sat in silence for a while until they were both finished their breakfasts. Then, Kathryn broke the silence.

"We had better head to Sick Bay. We can't keep the Doctor waiting," she sighed finally as she stood up. Chakotay nodded as he got up and put the bowl to one side.

"We're probably already late as it is," Chakotay replied with a chuckle as he held out his hand to her. Kathryn stared at him for a moment.

"You'll need to conceal us both, remember?" he said when he realised that she couldn't understand why he was offering her his hand. She blinked.

"Oh," she said simply as she fetched her red leather gloves, put them on and took his hand. Then, after she had activated her cloaking device, she led him down to Sick Bay.

_Space, Voyager, Sick Bay, a few minutes later_

The corridors had been eerily quiet as they had made their way through them so Chakotay and Kathryn had arrived at Sick Bay a few minutes earlier than they had expected to.

"Ah, Katie, you're slightly late," the Doctor said as he turned to them both. "You should take a seat, Chakotay."

Chakotay nodded and sat down on one of the beds. Kathryn, however, looked directly at the Doctor with a frown upon her face.

"What?" he said as he looked at her strangely for a moment. Then, he realised what had upset her. "I thought that I would get you used to being in disguise, Kathryn."

"I'm not Katie yet, Doctor," she replied simply. "I don't want to be called by that name by either of you until the ball tonight."

Both Chakotay and the Doctor nodded. Then, as the Doctor fetched his triquarter, Chakotay sighed. Although he knew that she wasn't going to say anything about it, he could tell that she was now beginning to prepare herself to put what scraps remained of Kathryn Janeway, the legendary Vice-Admiral, in her personality to one side because she knew that they had the potential to give her away to the Voyager Crew. He could also tell that she didn't like this fact either.

"You don't have to do it, you know," Chakotay said quietly as the Doctor returned with the triquarter. She was startled.

"How..." she began.

"I know you pretty well, Kathryn," Chakotay replied with a wry smile as the Doctor scanned his vital signs. "After all, I did spend seven years in the Delta Quadrant with you and we did spend two years together on and off between missions before you..."

She looked away and he trailed off.

"That's all behind us Chakotay," she said simply.

"For now, anyway," he corrected with a mischievous grin that made her blush slightly. The Doctor just completely ignored this exchange as he continued to scan Chakotay's vital signs.

"Well, Chakotay, it seems that you're now as healthy as a horse. Your liver and your kidneys have made a full miraculous recovery because all the damage you did to them during the days when you drunk yourself into a constant stupor seems to have been repaired by the Queen nanoprobes," the Doctor noted as soon as he completed the scan. "However, what's more intriguing, is that your muscles also appear to be gaining mass as well. The nanoprobes seem to be altering your physical make up to make you faster and stronger than an average human."

Kathryn instantly looked up from where she stood.

"Now, that's interesting, Doctor," she said. "How on earth would they need do that, though?"

"Perhaps, Vice-Admiral," he began as she glared at him. "Sorry, force of habit, I guess. As I was saying, Kathryn, perhaps they've done this as it's part of their nature as Queen nanoprobes."

"I'm confused," Chakotay confessed.

"Normal nanoprobes have been programmed to assimilate, Chakotay," she said simply. "When that part of their program is turned off, the remaining function of normal nanoprobes is to repair damage. However, the Doctor is suggesting that the Queen nanoprobes are also programmed to improve the physiology of those that carry them as well."

"But why would they do that?" he asked.

There was a tense moment of silence in which Kathryn looked away. Chakotay could tell that she knew the answer but, for some reason, she didn't quite want to tell him.

"Kathryn?" he said dangerously. "Don't you dare try to lie to me on this one."

She sighed. "It's quite simple, Chakotay," she said simply. "The Queen nanoprobes are usually passed down from Queen to Queen through forced assimilation, Chakotay. They've always improved those who have been unfortunate enough to be chosen into the perfect Queen so that they can perform their function better."

"So..." Chakotay began.

"So, the nanoprobes are improving you for your function," the Doctor continued.

"Which is?" he asked.

Both the Doctor and Kathryn looked at each other before they looked back at Chakotay.

"We don't know," Kathryn finished. "The Queen nanoprobes have never been in a male's body before."

"I'm the guinea pig," Chakotay said simply.

"Yes, you are," she replied simply.

"It's absolutely fascinating if I may so," the Doctor admitted.

There were another few moments of silence before the Doctor turned his attention to Kathryn.

"Now that I think about it, you're long overdue a medical yourself, Kathryn," he said. She shook her head.

"Oh no... I'm..." she began but, before she could protest, Chakotay had gotten up, taken her hand and sat her down on the bed.

"No buts, Kathryn," he said quite firmly. "I had to endure it so I don't see why you can't."

She sighed. "Oh, very well. Just get it over with quickly, Doctor," she snapped.

The Doctor nodded and quickly scanned her. When he was done, he sighed.

"Well, everything seems to be all right. Although it does seem that you're still slightly underweight, Kathryn. You have been eating, haven't you?" The Doctor asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"And you've been having three daily meals?" he asked because he had guessed that, even if she was eating, she was probably skipping meals and having coffee instead.

Kathryn looked down at the floor and the Doctor knew instantly that he had guessed correctly.

"You've got to eat three daily meals every day, Kathryn, and not just one or two with coffee as a substitute," he replied simply. "At least you've put on some weight since the last time, though. However, I'm going to be leaving it up to Chakotay to make sure that you eat and you regenerate at the proper times every day now."

He nodded. "She'll eat and regenerate at the correct times, Doctor," he assured as he looked to Kathryn with concern. "I'll make sure of it."

She groaned at this. If there was anyone who would be able to force her to eat and regenerate at the proper times every day, it was Chakotay. Kathryn knew that there was no way that she would be able to get around Chakotay's authority as he would always be able to find some way of forcing her to obey the Doctor's orders.

There were another few moments of silence before Kathryn finally remembered something.

"Doctor, did you wire my brain up to Voyager's computer?" she asked. "It was just that I was thinking about having a cup of coffee this morning and it appeared in the replicator nearby before I could even ask the computer for it."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I did. Do you both remember the neural interface chip that your older self had implanted in her brain?"

They both nodded in reply.

"So you finally created one?" she asked. "And you implanted it in my brain?"

He nodded in reply to both her questions.

"I created two chips, actually, although they're both only prototypes," he corrected.

"Where's the other one?" Chakotay asked. The Doctor smiled.

"Safely stored away where no one will be able to find it," the Doctor replied simply. "I've adapted Voyager's computer to be compatible with the neural interface chip so that you'll be able to take discreet control of the ship during times of crisis if there are ever any."

"And I can do anything with this chip?" she asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Any task that involves Voyager's computer, of course," he replied.

"Which means..." she began. Seconds later, the Doctor vanished as she had decided to test it by terminating his program. He reappeared again seconds later with a cross expression upon his face.

"That wasn't fair, Kathryn," he protested.

Kathryn shrugged. "I just wanted to test it. You're the only computer controlled program in Sick Bay which I could test my control over the computer upon without attracting attention to myself."

The Doctor sighed. "I understand but please just don't use me as a test subject again."

"I won't," she replied simply. "I..."

However, before she could finish, the door to Sick Bay opened and Seven of Nine entered. Due to the fact that Seven was looking down as she entered, Kathryn managed to hide herself using her cloaking device. However, Kathryn couldn't hide Chakotay in time before Seven looked up.

"Chakotay, we thought that..." she began in shock.

"Hello, Seven," Chakotay replied with an uneasy smile. "It has been a long time, indeed."


	9. Chapter 8: The Forgetfulness of Seven

_Before Redemption_

_A Voyager Fan-fiction_

_By Lauraac2110_

_Chapter 8: The Forgetfulness of Seven_

_Space, Voyager, Sick Bay_

"When did you get here?" Seven demanded instantly after recovering from her shock. "We didn't think you would be coming because..."

"I was wallowing in self-pity and grief?" Chakotay finished as she trailed off. Grimly, he hid his discomfort at being found out _before _the ball under an expressionless mask of indifference which quickly swept across his features as soon as she had stopped speaking. "Yes, I suppose I was. Fortunately, someone managed to snap me out of it."

Seven looked at the Doctor whom she guessed incorrectly to be the one that had gotten through to Chakotay.

"Don't look at me," he replied quite quickly as he shook his head and held his hands up in the air. "I may have brought him here but I'm definitely not the one who snapped him out of his grief in the first place."

"Then who did?" Seven asked curiously.

Chakotay shrugged.

"A close friend of mine. She'll be on the ship somewhere, I'm sure," he replied evasively.

"So, how are you now?" Seven asked.

"I'm fine," Chakotay replied. "Well, as fine as someone who turned to drink in grief can be."

"The damage isn't extreme, Seven," the Doctor assured quite quickly to reassure her as she looked at Chakotay with an alarmed expression upon her face. After all, he didn't want her to worry unnecessarily about Chakotay who was as healthy as a horse now even though the Doctor wasn't able to tell her that since it would make her suspicious and potentially give away Kathryn as well. "He'll recover quite nicely soon."

Seven relaxed for a moment before she smiled.

"That's good news, I guess," she said. The Doctor nodded in agreement with this.

"So, Seven, was there any reason why you entered my Sick Bay this morning?" the Doctor asked. Seven nodded.

"Captain Kim just wanted me to remind you that you're supposed to show up at the ball tonight, Doctor," she replied calmly with an amused smile upon her face. "You are, after all, supposed to be taking care of the guest of honour."

The Doctor nodded. "Fine."

Seven smiled at Chakotay.

"I'll just head up to Captain Kim and give him the good news," she said calmly as she looked poignantly at Chakotay. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, Chakotay, but I'm sure that we'll have enough time tonight during the ball to do so."

"I'm sure we will, Seven," Chakotay agreed uneasily.

Seven left at that moment and, as soon as she was gone, Kathryn cursed.

"This is definitely not good. Excuse me for a moment, gentleman," she said simply without explanation as they heard her hurriedly chase after Seven.

_Space, Voyager, Turbo-lift_

As Seven stepped into the turbo-lift on her way up to the Bridge, she had the feeling that someone was following her but there was no one in sight so she just shrugged it off as her imagination playing tricks upon her.

Little did she realise that Kathryn had successfully caught up with her and was standing just inches from her. The former Captain of Voyager leaned against the back wall of the ship with a grim expression upon her face.

_Stop. _Kathryn thought as she accessed the neural interface controls to stop the turbo-lift in its tracks.

At that moment, the turbo-lift shuddered to a halt and, no matter what Seven tried, she couldn't get it to start moving again. She cursed at her bad luck rather vocally several moments.

_I am sorry, Seven. _Kathryn thought. _I can't have anyone knowing that Chakotay is back yet. When the time comes, though, I'll restore this memory to you again. I swear it._

At that moment, she gently reached up to Seven's forehead and, before Seven could stop her, Kathryn used her powers over current and former Borg drones to wipe her memory of Chakotay's return. Then, Kathryn knocked her out.

For a moment, Kathryn sighed before she used the neural interface to send the turbo-lift back down to the deck that Sick Bay was on. Once she had done that, she got out and looked back at the unconscious Seven with a sorrowful expression of regret on her face.

"Computer, please alert Captain Kim that Seven of Nine has collapsed in the turbo-lift," Kathryn said politely aloud before she returned to Sick Bay.

_Space, Voyager, Sick Bay_

"I'm back," Kathryn declared with a sad smile upon her face as she turned off her cloaking device whilst she entered Sick Bay.

"What did you do?" Chakotay asked curiously as she sighed.

"I had no choice but to erase Seven's memory of your return," Kathryn replied grimly as she looked down at the floor with a sorrowful expression upon her face. "I need to keep the fact that we're here a surprise until the ball tonight."

Chakotay nodded before he sighed.

"I did, however, alert Captain Kim to the fact that Seven had collapsed in the turbo-lift so they'll probably be bringing her here any moment now," she continued with a reassuring smile. "So, if you're finished with us, Doctor, Chakotay and I are going to take our leave."

"I am," the Doctor replied reassuringly. "I look forward to seeing you both tonight at the ball. And I'll make sure that Seven will be all right."

Kathryn smiled.

"I look forward to seeing the reactions of the crew more than the ball itself, Doctor, as you know. Remember not to mention either of us," she replied in warning before she and Chakotay left without another word.

_Space, Voyager, Bridge, at that very moment_

As Captain Kim rushed to the turbo-lift and called it up to the Bridge, he didn't explain why he was doing so to the senior officers on duty. However, they knew that whatever it was it had to be serious if it had caused the Captain to come running out of his quarters in his dressing gown.

As soon as the turbo-lift arrived and opened to reveal Seven of Nine, Harry Kim gasped.

_So the computer was right..._ Harry thought. _But who alerted me..._

Harry snapped out of his thoughts as he checked her pulse and realised that she was indeed unconscious. After a moment, Harry lifted Seven up into his arms and commanded the computer to take him to the deck that Sick Bay was on.

_Space, Voyager, Sick Bay, several minutes later_

"Doctor!" Harry called as he rushed into Sick Bay with Seven in his arms. He was rather pale and, on top of that, sweating heavily because of the sheer effort he had been forced to put in to get Seven to the Sick Bay.

"Captain, how may I help you?" the Doctor replied as he came out of his office.

"It's Seven," Harry replied grimly. "The computer alerted me to the fact that Seven had collapsed in the turbo-lift and, when I went to check, I found her unconscious on the floor of the lift. I haven't been able to rouse her."

"Put her on the bed," the Doctor commanded. Harry nodded and watched anxiously as the Doctor checked Seven over using his tricorder.

"She appears to be all right," he noted before he grimaced. "If I were to guess, I believe that she must have just fainted, Captain, due to exhaustion. She has been dealing with all of the ball preparations all by herself over the last few weeks, Captain, and it has obviously taken its toll."

"How long until she wakes up?" Harry asked worriedly.

At that moment, Seven groaned and the Doctor smiled brightly.

"I think that she might just be waking up right now," he replied reassuringly.

Sure enough, Seven woke at that moment and she seemed somewhat confused about where she was and what had happened to her.

"What happened?" she demanded as she sat up.

"The computer alerted me to the fact that you had collapsed in the turbo-lift," Harry replied calmly as he looked her directly in the eye. "Can you remember what happened?"

Seven blinked.

"I don't quite remember," she admitted. "I was coming up to the Bridge to tell you something but I can't quite remember what it was. I'm sorry."

"Seven?" Harry said in confusion.

"She appears to have temporal amnesia," the Doctor noted grimly. "Seven, did you hit your head?"

"No," Seven said slowly. "At least I don't think so, anyway."

The Doctor checked Seven's head at that moment and noticed a small amount of blood trickling down from her forehead.

"Well, it appears that you have," the Doctor replied grimly as he fetched a sterile cloth to wipe the blood away. "I'll have to run some test to make sure that you haven't got any internal bleeding before you can go anywhere."

Seven grimaced.

"Well, since Seven can't go, I'll go find Axum for her," Harry replied grimly. "He'll want to know about this."

He turned and began to leave.

"Harry?" the Doctor called. Harry stopped and turned to him.

"Yes?" he replied.

"A small suggestion. You might want to go back to your quarters and change first," the Doctor warned. "Axum might get the wrong impression if you don't."

Harry turned and nodded. It was true that Axum would likely believe that he had been sleeping with his lover, Seven, if he turned up in Axum's quarters in his nightclothes which would put his life in considerable danger. Besides, going around in his nightclothes would also get the crew talking which was, as he had quickly learned, _never _a good thing.

"Thanks, Doctor," he replied before he left.

_Space, Voyager, Chakotay's quarters, at that very moment_

"So, Kathryn, tell me, what are we going to do now?" Chakotay asked as they arrived back in his room. The door was sealed shut behind them and, grimly, both of them sat down on the sofa.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I didn't think this far ahead."

"Well, I'm sure that we can think of something," he replied calmly.

A small blush crept up Kathryn's cheeks for some reason for a moment before she quickly got it under control again.

_We're not... I'm not... He didn't mean it like that. _She reminded herself firmly.

Chakotay was somewhat surprised by her reaction for a moment before a small smile spread across his face.

_Well, well, well, it seems that I was right. She still has feelings for me. _He thought. _And they're still at the forefront of her mind despite her attempts to hide them..._

"You have a dirty mind, Kathryn," he teased. Her blush returned for a moment before she shook herself and got herself under control again.

_Chakotay and I are just colleagues right now. Nothing more._ Kathryn reminded herself firmly.

"I wasn't thinking what you're probably thinking I was," she protested as he stared at her.

"You clearly were," he replied as his smile widened. She didn't reply to this and, instead, just sighed.

"So, Chakotay, what about a game or two of cards?" she asked to quickly distract herself from her feelings. Chakotay sighed at this.

"Cards it is," he said simply in agreement.

As Kathryn fetched the cards, Chakotay sat down and watched her as she rummaged through the drawers looking for the cards with an unreadable expression upon her face.

_This is definitely going to be a long wait. _He thought sadly. _She'll have to admit her feelings for me eventually, though._


End file.
